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How Often to Use Coconut Oil on My Hair? 

While coconut oil has many health benefits when ingested and used in cooking, it’s also proven helpful when massaged onto your scalp and your hair. 

Coconut oil has long been preached as the cure-all for hair because no matter your hair type, be it curly, kinky, or stick straight, coconut oil helps lock in moisturizing properties. 

But how often to apply coconut oil to hair for the best result?

How Often to Use Coconut Oil on My Hair? 

If you have the hair type to use coconut oil, apply it between 1-3 times a week. When trying it out for the first time, try using it once a week and gauging the effects. Then you can gradually use it more if you notice you need to.

While there aren’t extremely harmful consequences of using coconut oil excessively, like causing hair to fall out, it can make your hair look greasier, and replacing coconut oil regularly can become expensive. 

Overuse of coconut oil can also dry out your scalp from excessive washing when you wash the coconut oil out. Regardless of your hair type, you don’t want and should not be washing your hair every day.

Dry or damaged hair: If your hair is dry or damaged, use coconut oil more frequently, such as twice a week to provide extra moisture to your hair.

Fine or oily hair: If your hair is fine or oily, using coconut oil too often may weigh your hair down and make it greasier. In such cases, use it less frequently, like once every two weeks or even once a month.

Normal hair: If your hair is normal, use coconut oil weekly.

It’s always best to start with a small amount of coconut oil and adjust as needed. Too much oil can make your hair greasy and difficult to manage.

What Does Coconut Oil Do to Hair? 

coconut oil for hair

Coconut oil is almost a magic potion when it comes to hair care, and that’s because it can help keep moisture in your hair. Coconut oil doesn’t moisturize your hair but rather holds onto pre-existing moisture.

In the shower, using hot water and strong shampoo can strip the natural moisture there, and coconut oil helps to replenish it, resulting in smoother and silkier hair.  

Using coconut oil can help tame your split ends and overall makes your hair look shiny and feel softer. Coconut oil is a beneficial additive if you tend to suffer from dry hair because it helps restore and gives it some luster after each use. 

While you know applying coconut oil is helpful, you may wonder how often you need to do it to see results and what is too much for your hair. You also don’t want to replace your coconut oil supply if using it more frequently than your hair needs. 

Does Coconut Oil Work for All Hair Types? 

applying coconut oil

Unfortunately, no. Coconut oil doesn’t tend to have a strong, helping hand for thinner or greasier hair, as the oil is too heavy for thin hair and will make greasy hair look greasier.

Additionally, coconut oil cannot work for all ailments and is not a solve-all solution. If you are struggling with dandruff, coconut oil can create more dandruff. 

Coconut oil will also not magically make your split ends go away. While it can prevent further breakage if you use it regularly, you still should plan on getting regular trims to keep your hair healthy

How Can I Use Coconut Oil to Improve Hair Health?

Coconut oil can be used in different ways to help hair! 

If you’re planning on using it to help make your ends silky and smooth, you can apply it to your strands and avoid your scalp, then keep it in your hair for up to an hour. 

After that, hop in the shower and follow your regular shampooing and conditioning routine. 

If battling frizzy hair, small amounts of coconut oil placed on those tricky strands will make them more cooperative. Coconut oil can aid in detangling hair and other issues. 

Coconut oil is a valuable treatment to add to your hair routine, especially when you use it appropriately and use an appropriate amount. It can be a nice pick-me-up between your haircuts too. 

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